After a massive mandate, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar will take oath of office after the Chhath festival on November 20.

Two days after a stunning electoral win, the Grand Alliance of JD-U, RJD and the Congress led by Nitish began the process to form the cabinet.

All the newly elected MLAs have been invited to Patna after the Chhath festival for a joint meeting with Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav.

Several non-BJP chief ministers including West Bengal CM Mamta Banerjee and Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik and other senior leaders like Congress president Sonia Gandhi, vice President Rahul Gandhi and former PM Deve Gowda will be invited to attend the oath taking ceremony in Patna.

 
"A 36-member cabinet including chief minister Nitish Kumar will take oath after Chhath festival,"JD-U leaders said.

Chhath will be celeberated after Diwali on Nov 16 and 17 and is the most popular festival in Bihar.

According to leaders of the Grand Alliance, there will be 16 ministers from RJD, 15 from JD-U and 5 from Congress in his cabinet.

RJD has emerged as the largest single party winning 80 assembly seats, followed by JD-U with 71 and Congress with 27 seats.

The BJP won 53 assembly seat and its allies LJP 2 ,RLSP 2 and HAM 1 seat. Three seats were won by the CPI(ML) of the left front and four independents.


-- MI Khan/Patna